Chapter 339

The once quiet forest was suddenly filled with the sound of footsteps; it was the guards patrolling the woods.

Song Xuan turned his horse around, tightened the reins, and held Shen Qingnian in his arms as they headed towards the shooting position.

The sound of horses' hooves clattered, and a man's voice rang in Shen Qingnian's ear: "Qingnian, don't be afraid."

As the distance closed, Shen Qingnian heard muffled groans and cries of pain, as well as the sound of flesh being struck. She saw a figure covered by a sack lying on the ground, while Ye Lingzhou, dressed in a neat riding outfit, was punching and kicking the person on the ground, with guards surrounding him.

As Ye Lingzhou hit him, he kept saying, "Serves you right for your wicked intentions, for your crimes, for your audacity..."

Shen Qingnian was somewhat surprised. Ye Lingzhou was a noble prince. Even if he caught a thief, he would take him into custody and hand him over to His Majesty for punishment. But Ye Lingzhou directly beat the thief up. This was indeed quite surprising.

“It’s Shen Zheng,” Song Xuan whispered in Shen Qingnian’s ear.

The arrow feathers embedded in the tree trunk had a few streaks of crimson on them; they were Shen Zheng's special arrow feathers.

Shen Qingnian suddenly realized why Ye Lingzhou had hit her so hard; upon closer listening to his indignant words, she understood the deeper meaning behind them...

At this moment, Ye Lingzhou and the surrounding guards noticed that Song Xuan was riding in with Shen Qingnian, and they all knelt down to pay their respects.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine."

Song Xuan's deep gaze fell on the figure covered by a sack, and he asked coldly, "Stand up, all of you. Is this the traitor who just tried to assassinate me?"

The sack, which had been lying motionless on the ground, immediately started moving after hearing Song Xuan's voice. It kept twisting its body and making "uh-uh-uh" noises, looking extremely excited, as if it had found reinforcements.

Upon hearing this, Shen Qingnian raised her eyebrows slightly. Ye Lingzhou was truly thorough in his work; not only had he put a sack over her mouth, but he had also gagged her!

Seeing Shen Zheng struggle, Ye Lingzhou kicked the sack twice more, saying viciously, "You traitor, how dare you assassinate His Majesty! You really don't want to live! No matter who you are, I'll skin you alive!"

The sack on the ground stopped moving, whether from pain or from listening to Ye Lingzhou's words, it was hard to tell.

Song Xuan's eyes swept over the tall horse beside him. The horse was incredibly strong, with glossy coats, clearly well-cared for. It was laden with several small hunted animals. He knew that this was Shen Zheng's warhorse, named Zhui Feng.

Shen Qingnian also noticed the horse. She squeezed the man's large hand holding the reins and said, "His Majesty was almost hit by that arrow just now. It was truly a close call!"

The guard who had been following Song Xuan at a distance stepped forward at the opportune moment, and said with great emotion, "It was truly extremely dangerous just now. If Your Majesty had not dodged in time, you would probably be..."

After saying this, he sighed with lingering fear, realizing that turning black into white was nothing more than a glance from the emperor.

Ye Lingzhou knelt down with a thud, and said with deep remorse, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. It was my incompetence that allowed thieves to infiltrate the hunting grounds. Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will certainly execute these thieves, and..."

Shen Qingnian raised her hand to stop Ye Lingzhou from speaking. She frowned and said, "This villain deserves to die. Let's not offend His Majesty's eyes any further. There's no need to loosen the sack. Just draw your long sword and stab him to death!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Ye Lingzhou immediately revealed a suppressed laugh, and the sack lying on the ground began to struggle again, this time much more violently than before.